sábado, maio 16, 2009

[Turkey] [Commentary] No transsexuals or conservatives allowedİzmir is the third biggest city in Turkey. Its natives often believe that it is the most modern, Westernized part of the country. Yet, I have been thinking on this “modernity” aspect of the city for a long time, and have come to the conclusion that it is one of the biggest Turkish myths.First, let me tell you a story. It happened in İzmir a few weeks ago. A few lawyers, including a friend of mine, went to a pub just to have a friendly chat. Among them was a transsexual person, who was actually a client of one of those lawyers. However, as soon as they sat down to ask for drinks, a waiter approached them and asked them to send away this transsexual person. Seeing surprised faces, he explained the reason: “Transsexuals and woman with headscarves are not allowed in this pub!” My friends, of course, felt deeply insulted and left the pub altogether.

The Green Line trolley operator blamed for last week’s crash has decided not to speak with federal investigators on the advice of his lawyer.Since Friday’s collision, the trolley operator, Aiden Quinn, 24, had previously skipped two scheduled meetings with the NTSB.